Former South Africa winger Ashwin Willemse will engage in further talks with broadcaster SuperSport in order to resolve what he says was racial discrimination against him on set in May.
Willemse, who stormed off a live broadcast last month and accused co-hosts Naas Botha and Nick Mallett of 'patronising' him, has threatened to take the matter to the Equality Court, after an investigation concluded there was no racism involved.
An independent inquiry conducted by advocate Vincent Maleka said it could find no evidence of racism by Botha and Mallett, but also advised that SuperSport and Willemse continue to discuss the matter to reach a concrete resolution.
Willemse opted not to participate in the original investigation, which his lawyer, Nqobizitha Mlilo, said was his right, as they did not feel it was the correct forum.
"The individual interviews that were conducted by Advocate Maleka could not be tested and that is not an appropriate process to follow," Mlilo submitted to the media.
"To participate in that process would be fruitless as there is no value in the findings without Mr Willemse's evidence. The only place where we can test the evidence, and cross-examine the individuals versions is at the Equality Court and we are in the process of finalising our documentation."
Willemse then advised he wanted to take the case further as he felt racism was indeed the root of the problem, but his lawyer said the TV analyst would try to resolve the situation with another attempt at discussion.
"He is, however, willing to speak to them [SuperSport] and if the process yields something positive then that will be the end of the matter," Mlilo added.
Meanwhile, the investigation revealed a tense relationship between Willemse and former Springboks coach Mallett, with a letter to a SuperSport producer, from Mallett, submitted to the investigation.
According to the report, Mallett wrote: "It would be great if Ashwin could be moved to the morning show where we don't have to work together.
"I think he talks garbage, we irritate the hell out of each other and the working environment is just unpleasant and tense.
"I am very happy to work with Breyton (Paulse), Shimmy (Hanyani Shimange) or Bobs (Gcobani Bobo) instead as, unlike with Ashwin, I respect their hard work and rugby opinions."
Mlilo referred to this when adding: "There's a long history and you can't only use one day's incident to determine whether racism was at play or not."
Both Mallett and Botha have been cleared to return to the air, though it has not been made known when that will be, with SuperSport CEO Gideon Khobane saying: "Naas and Nick will come back on air, and my intention is to reach out to Ashwin and have further engagements with him.
"I still see a place for Ashwin at SuperSport, and would like to understand his viewpoint as to why he decided not to participate in this process. It is important that we don't close the door on him, because he can still add value."